The Patrimonial Assault on the State
Weberian Insights into the Current Transformations of Government.
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming discussion on May 15th at 16:00 CEST with the authors of The Assault on the State. How the Global Attack on Modern Government Endangers Our Future (2024), Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein,and Tomila Lankina as discussant (others to be confirmed).
Current developments in the U.S. – arbitrary tariffs, TV stars turned law enforcers, relatives appointed ambassadors – suggest a move away from rational forms of rule toward patrimonialism. In their 2024 book, The Assault on the State. How the Global Attack on Modern Government Endangers Our Future, Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein draw inspiration from Weber’s ideal types of rule to argue that not only in the U.S., but around the world, in countries as diverse as Hungary, Israel, and the U.K., attacks on the modern state and its workforce are intensifying. They are morphing into power grabs by self-aggrandizing politicians seeking to seize control of the state for themselves and their cronies. In apparent agreement with Weber, who observed that in the normal case of patrimonialism “a staff of formally specialized officials is usually absent,” Kopstein and Hanson argue that with the rule of law dismantled and the modern state fatally undermined, the only realistic alternative is the rule of men.
Here’s the link and info for you to join:
Topic: The Patrimonial Assault on the State
Time: May 15, 2025 16:00 Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/99121263404?pwd=q2gBbZSVm6rIbrlm2342xwvNzgPhXz.1
Meeting ID: 991 2126 3404
Passcode: 729539
You’re welcome to post this widely and invite everyone – Weber-scholar or otherwise – to join as well. More info and details at info@weberscholars.net.